Snow plow



Feb. 15, 1938. w. A. McNUL-ry 2,108,134

I l sNow PLow l I Filed OCC. 13. 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l A. Xing. if

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V wr-f f5 f2 ff M--- w *Y /61 g5 7a 'Je J' l 1w 2e MM auf gy-zw d? iwfFeb. 15, i938. w. A. MCNULTY SNOW PLOW Fixed oct. 15, 193e 2Sheets-Sheet 2 if uwe 7( www@ M Patented Feb. 15, 1938 PATENT OFFICESNOW PLOW

William A. McNulty, Chicago, Ill.

Application October 13,

2 Claims.

This invention relates to Snow plows and more particularly to snow plowsadapted for use with railway equipment.

In removing snow from a railway right of way 5 it is desirable to removethe snow from between the rails and this may be done by causing theHanger blades of a snow plow to pass between the rails, but because oftrack intersections, switches and the like it is essential that theanger plates and the blades thereon be capable of being retracted frombetween the rails when approaching track intersections and switches andthe like so as to prevent the flangers from jamming on the railsintersecting those between which they are operating, and therefore oneof the objects of my invention is to provide a novel snow plow whereinthe flangers may be operated between the rails but which may beretracted from between the rails to clear intersecting rails, switchesand the 20 like.

It is desirable to remove snow as close as possible to the road bed butat the same time the hanger blades must be kept free from the ties andthe like of the road bed and hence another object of my invention is toprovide a snow plow wherein the iiangers may be lowered into a -definiteposition relative to the road bed so that substantially all of the snowbetween the rails may be removed without the fiangers striking the tiesor the like of the road bed.

Another object of my invention is to prevent derailing of the locomotiveor the like to which my snow plow is attached if the flangers strike anobstruction on the road bed. 35 Heretofore it has been proposed toprovide devices for raising and lowering the langers of a snow plowassociated with a locomotive or the like and it has been proposed tobring this about by pressure operated means, but heretofore suchpressure operated means have been located in such a position that snowdug up by the plow could contact therewith and this impaired properoperation of the pressure operated means, and hence another object of myinvention is to ernploy pressure operated means to elevate and lower theflangers of a snow plow from and to operative position and to soposition such pressure operated means that snow dug up by the plow isprevented from contacting therewith and impairing operation thereof.

It is not only desirable to remove snow from between the rails of arailway right of way but also to spread snow so removed well away fromthe right of way, and a further object of my invention is to spread snowremoved by a plow well 1936, Serial No. 105,374

beyond the sides of the rails of the right of way, and an objectancillary to the foregoing is to associate wings with the ilangers ofthe plow so that snow removed by the flangers will pass onto the wingsto be dispersed well to the side of the rails of the right of way, and astill further object is to so arrange the wings that they will beretracted from or advanced into operating positions along with themovement of the flangers of the plow into and from operative position,and an object ancillary to this is to move the wings into and tomaintain the wings in operative position by pressure operated means alsolocated to prevent snow removed by the plow from impairing properoperation thereof.

Still further objects of the invention are to elevate and maintainelevated the angers of a snow plow by pressure operated means wherebythe angers will be supported for movement relative to the road bed andother parts of the plow when in operative position; to interconnect theflangers and wings of my improved snow plow and thereby enable theflangers and wings to be synchronously moved into and from operativeposition; to provide a snow plow which may be expeditiously attached orremoved from a locomotive or other railway equipment; and to provide anovel snow plow of simple and economical construction an-d efficient andpositive operation.

A selected embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings wherein Fig. 1 is a side elevational view in which my novelsnow plow is shown mounted on a fragmentally illustrated locomotive;

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of my novel snow plow; 35

Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 on Fig.3; and

Fig. 5 is a detail view similar to Fig. 1 showing another means foroperating my novel snow plow.

My novel snow plow is preferably substituted for the usual pilot of alocomotive or the like and to this end the pilot is removed and my novelsnow plow is fastened to those portions of the locomotive or the like towhich the pilot is usually attached. In this way I am enabled to attachmy novel plow to the locomotive without having portions of the plowprojecting into the path ofthe snow being removed from the right of wayby my plow whereby dispersion of the snow well to the sides of therailway right of way is not impaired by parts of the plow. To this endmy novel plow includes a transverse beam l0 which may be bolted orotherwise suitably secured to the frame of the loco-motive in theposition where the usual pilot beam of the locomotive is secured. Thebeam i0 is arranged at the rear end of my plow and at the forward endthereof a carrier beam Il is provide-d and these beams areinterconnected adjacent their ends to side beams I2 and IS. Reenforcingbeams I4 and I5 are provided intermediate the side beams to extendparallel to the side beams between the carrier and rear beams II and I0whereby a rigi-d frame is provided.

As best shown in Fig. 4, the forward ends of the beams I2, I3, I4 and I5are bent to provide downwardly extending legs I6, I'I, I8 and I 9,respectively, and the lower ends of these legs are bent rearwardly toprovide foot portions or stops 2U, 2l, 22 and 23. The legs I6, I'I, I8and I9 do not extend at right angles to the main extent of the beams I2,I3, I and I5 but are inclined as shown in Fig. 4 for a purpose to beexplained. As best shown in Fig. 2, the forward ends of the beams I4 andI5 are arranged forwardly of the forward ends of the beams I2 and I3,the purpose of which will also be explained.

A pair of flanger plates 24 and 25 are provided which are adapted to bearranged in side by side relation, the plate 24 being rested on theforward faces of the legs I6 and I'I and the plate 25 being rested onthe forward faces of the legs I8 and I 9. Inasmuch as the leg I8 isforwardly of the leg IB and the leg I9 is forwardly of the leg I 'I theflanger plates 24 and 25 are disposed in angular relation With respectto each other when these plates are rested on the front faces of thelegs and the apex defined by the angular relation of these plates islocated substantially medially of the plow. The upper edges of theflanger plates 24 and 25 are rolled to provide deflectors 26 and 21, thepurpose of which is explained hereinafter.

A pair of angle brackets 28 and 29 are arranged in side by side relationto extend upwardly from the lower edge of the flanger plate 24 adjacentthe inner edge thereof. These brackets are disposed on the rear face ofthe anger plate 24 and are spaced apart sufficiently to receive the legI8 therebetween. The angle brackets 28 and 29 are securely fastened tothe anger plate 24 by rivets or the like. Another pair of angle brackets30 and 3| are similarly positioned on the flanger plate 25 and receivetherebetween the leg I9.

As best shown in Fig. e, the width of the parallel portions of the anglebrackets 3@ and 3| is of greater extent than the thickness of the leg I9and bolts 33 and 3s extend between the parallel portions of the brackets3l] and 3l rearwardly of the rear face of the leg I9. These boltsrespectively pass through sleeves 35 and 35 that are disposed betweenthe parallel portions of the brackets Sil and 3l and which bear on therear face of the leg I9. It will thus be seen that the fia-nger plate 25is connected to the leg i9 for movement therealong but is held againstdisplacement therefrom. 'In a. manner similar to this the flanger plate2li is connected to the leg I8 through the angle brackets 28 and 29.Furthermore, similar' pairs of angle brackets are provided adjacent theouter edges of the anger plates 24 and 25 and through these anglebrackets the plates 2d and 25 are connected to the legs i6 and Il in thejust described manner.

Thus the danger plate 2li is mounted for substantially vertical movementalong the legs i6 and i8 and the flanger plate 25 is mounted forsubstantially vertical movement along the legs I 'I and i9. The sleevesas 35 are adapted to engage the stops as 23 to limit downward movementof the anger plates as 25 and when the sleeves as 35 engage the stops as23 the flanger plates are disposed in predetermined relation with theroad bed.

The rails R and R are mounted cn ties T and as the locomotive or thelike to which my novel plow is attached travels along the rails R and Rthe iianger plates are adapted to remove snow from between these rails.inasmuch as wear will be greatest at the lower leading edges of theilanger plates and flanger blades 3? and 38 are detachably connected atthe lower leading edges of the anger plates. By reason of the removablemounting of these ianger blades they may be removed and replaced whenthey become worn. A recess S9 is provided in the flanger blade 3l and arecess l is provided in the anger blade The rails R and R respectivelypass into these recesses when the anger plates 2d and 25 are lowered andthe sleeves as 36 rest on the stops as 23. When the sleeves as 3Q reston the stops as 23 the inner edges of the notches 39 and [se just clearthe top of the rail and the portions of the iianger blades 5l and 38intermediate these recesses are disposed between the rails and act toremove substantially all the snow from between the rails R and R withoutcoming in contact with the ties T or the like between the rails.Inasrnuch as the stops 23 are rigid it will be apparent that the flangerblades of the flanger plates are accurately positioned thereby relativeto the surface of the road bed, and this prevents injury to both theblades and the road bed which would probably result if the blades couldcontact with the road bed.

It has been explained that it is desirable that the flanger blades bearranged so that they can be elevated and lowered se that when railsintersecting the rails R and R' are approached or when a switch isapproached the fianger blades 31 and 33 may be retracted from betweenthe rails and thereby be prevented from striking such intersecting railsor the like. To this end the lower ends of chains lli and l2 areconnected to the rear face of the flanger plate 213 and similarly chainsi3 and Il are connected to the rear face of the lianger plate 25. Theupper ends of the chains 4i and l2 are bolted cr otherwise suitablysecured to the outer free end of an arm 45 and the upper ends of thechains d3 and 44 are similarly connected to the outer free end of thearm The rear ends of the arms #l5 and 46 are fast to a rock shaft lmounted in brackets i8 and l extending upwardly from the carrier beamIE.

An arm i8 extends upwardly from the rock shaft 4l adjacent the brackete8 and the free end of this arm 'i3 is disposed in a bifurcation in oneend of the arm le, said arms being pivotally interconnected by a bolt orrivet Sil or the like. The other end of the arm 'ifi is connected to thepiston rod 82 of the piston in the cylinder Si which is mounted on therunning board of the locomotive well rearwardly of the rear beam I@ ofmy novel snow plow. When steam cr air under pressure is admitted intothe cylinder 8l in front of the piston therein this piston is forcedrearwardly and this rearward movement is transmitted through piston rod82 and arm 'I9 to the arm 78 whereupon the rock shaft il is rotated tomove the arms 45 and 45 upwardly and this, through the chains Lil and 42and 43 and M5, elevates the angers 24 and 25 75 into their upper orinoperative position. When pressure is applied in the back of the pistonin the cylinder SI the piston rod 82 and arm 44 are moved forwardlywhereupon the rock shaft 41 is rotated to lower the arms 44 and 45. Thismovement of the arms 44 and 45 is sufficient to free the chains oftension and the flangers drop down and rest upon the foot portions 25,2l, 22 and. 23 and are free to move on the legs I5, I'I, I8 and I9.

It has been explained that it is desirable that snow removed from theroad bed of a railway right of way be dispersed well to the sides of theroad bed. This can be effectively accomplished by positioning wingsadjacent the outer free edges of the flanger plates 24 and 25 in suchlocation that snow picked up by the anger plates 24 and 25 and moved upover the front surface thereof to the deflectors 2B and 2'I thereon willpass onto the wings to be spread well to the sides of the right of way.To this end brackets 62 and 63 depend downwardly from the side beams I2and I3 adjacent the forward ends thereof and provide foot portions 54and 65 in which the lower ends of bars 66 and 5? are rockably mounted.The brackets 4S and 49 include portions which project beyond the sideedges of the side beams I2 and I3 and the circular portions 58 and 59 onthe shafts 55 and 5'! are mounted therein, said shafts includingportions 56 and 61' that extend above the brackets 48 and 49. The inneredges of wings 'Ill and 'II are secured to the bars 65 and E? and aremovable with the bars to and from operative position.

A bracket 32 extends between the carrier beam II and the bracket 53 anda reenforcing bar 83 extends between a depending boss 84 on the sidebeam I3 and said bracket 63. The brackets 82 and 83 serve to reinforcethe bracket 63 and similar brackets are associated with the bracket 52.

The wings are adapted to be held in their outer operative position toreceive snow from the flangers 24 and 25 and the delectors 26 and 2'Ithereon. Furthermore the wings are to move into this outer operativeposition when the flangers are lowered to rest on the foot portions as20.

Hence another rock shaft 53 is provided and it is mounted in brackets 54and 55 carried by the side beams I2 and I3 respectively. An arm 5i)depends downwardly from the rock shaft 53 into a bifurcation at one endof the arm 5I and the arms 55 and 5I are pivotally interconnected by abolt 5l or the like. An arm 5I) extends upwardly from the rock shaft Iland the adjacent end of the arm 5I is pivotally connected thereto by abolt 52 or the like. Thus through the arm 5I the rock shafts 53 and 4Iare interconnected.

An inwardly extending arm 'I2 is secured at the upper end of the portionE5' and another inwardly extending arm 'I3 is secured at the upper endof the portion 51. An upwardly extending arm 'I4 is fast on the rockshaft 53 and the arms 'I2 and 'lil are interconnected by a link 15.Another arm 'I5 extends upwardly from the rock shaft 55 and a link 'Ilinterconnects the free end of this arm with the free end of arm 13. Inthis manner the bars 66 and 61 are connected to the rock shaft 53.

Therefore whenever the rock shaft 4'! is rotated to lower the arms 45and 46 which results in movement of the fiangers 24 and 25 intooperative position this movement is transmitted through the arm 5I tothe rock shaft 53 and thence through the arms 'I4 and I6, links T5 and'Il and arms 'I2 and 'I3 to the bars 66 and 67 whereupon the wings I and'II are moved into their outer operative position. Contrawise when therock shaft 4l is rotated to elevate the flangers 24 and 25 the wings areretracted into their inner or inoperative position.

While the wings 'l0 and 'Ii will be moved into their outer operativeposition upon lowering of* the flangers 24 and 25 the pressure exertedthereon by snow passing thereover might be sufficient to force thesewings inwardly. Hence these wings are effectively held in their outeroperative position and to this end an upwardly extending arm 58 isprovided on the rock shaft 53 and one end of a link 59 is pivotallyconnected to the free end of arm 58. The other end of the link 59 ispivotally connected to the piston rod 6I of the piston in the cylinder55 mounted on the locomotive adjacent the cylinder 3i.

When air under pressure is admitted in front of the piston in thecylinder G the piston rod 5i is moved rearwardly and this, through thelink 59, so moves the rock shaft 53 that the wings 'iii and 'II areforced into and held in their outer operative position. Furthermore whenair is applied in back of the piston in the cylinder S5 the wings areretracted into their inner inoperative position.

Inasmuch as the rock shafts 4l and 53 are interconnected and as each isconnected to a pressure operated means, the cylinders 5i! and 8i', it isadvantageous to operate the pressure operated means simultaneously.Furthermore, the pistons in the pressure operated means are adapted tolmove in opposite directions in such simultaneous operation thereof.Hence I provide a valve V and I extend a pipe S5 from one port in thisvalve to the front end of the cylinder 8| and I extend a pipe 8B from acooperating port in the valve to the rear end of the cylinder 60. I alsoextend a pipe B'I from another port in the valve to. the front end ofthe cylinder 55 and from a cooperating port in the valve I extend a pipe88 to the rear end of the cylinder 8i. A supply pipe 89 leads from thevalve V to a source of supply of steam or air under pressure. The valveV is of the type which may be moved into a position so as to shut offflow to all cf the ports or into a position such that flow may bethrough the pipes 55 and 85 or into another position where the flow willbe through the pipes 8'! and 88.

In an arrangement wherein a device such as the valve V is provided whenit is desirable to render my plow operative the valve is positioned toadmit pressure into the cylinder 8i through the pipe 88 and into thecylinder 55 through the pipe 8l whereupon the pistons in these cylindersand the piston rods move in the manner similarly described to disposethe flangers and the wings in their operative position. When the hangersor wings are to be moved into their inoperative position the valve ispositioned to cause ow through the pipes 35 and 85 whereupon the pistonsin the cylinders 59 and 55 are moved in the manner previously described.It will thus be seen that the provision of a valve such. as the valve Vfacilitates the operation of my novel snow plow.

Another equally efficient means for operating my snow plow isillustrated in Fig. 5 wherein the cylinders 60a and Bia have only onesource of steam or air supply thereto through the pipes 85a and 38arespectively. The steam or air is admitted to the pipes 86a and 88a bymeans of a valve Va which controls the pressure from the source ofsupply fed to the valve Va through the pipe 89a. The piston in thecylinder 60a has an angular piston rod Bla extending through the endwall of the cylinder and connected to the link 59. A coil spring Sii ismounted on the piston rod within the cylinder and when the pressiue isreleased by the valve Va the spring forces the piston to the right, Fig.5. The opening in the end of the cylinder through which the piston rodpasses is larger than the rod, permitting free movement of air in backof the piston into and out of the cylinder as the piston moves back andforth. The cylinder Sia is constructed similar to the cylinder 63a andis provided with a spring 9i about the piston rod 82a within thecylinder.

As the valve Va is operated to admit pressure into the cylinder 69a thesame valve connects the cylinder Bla to the atmosphere through the pipe88a. Therefore the flangers 2d and 25 are lowered and the wings 'lli and'll are forced into and held by the continued pressure in cylinder 59ain their outer operative position simultaneously. As pressure isadmitted to the cylinder Sla by means of the valve Va and pipe 88a thecylinder 50a is connected to the atmosphere through the pipe 86a and theflangers are raised and held in raised position by the continuedpressure in cylinder Bla and the wings are folded inwardly to theirinoperative position simultaneously. The structure disclosed in Fig. 5for operating the snow plow provides simple structure and an equally aseiiicient structure as the means shown in Fig. 1 for operating the snowplow.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that I have provideda snow plow which will act to remove snow from between the rails of arailway right of way and one which may be easily elevated out of suchoperative position when intersecting rails, switches or the like areapproached. Furthermore, those portions which will be subjected to thegreatest wear are arranged so that they can easily be replaced. Inaddition to the foregoing wings are provided which are moved to and froman operative position when the langers of my plow are moved to and fromoperative position, and these wings serve to spread the snow well to thesides of the right of way. The means for moving the wings to and fromoperative position may be arranged for adjustment so that the wings maybe moved into different positions relative to the hangers which willcontrol the amount to which snow is spread to the sides of the right ofway.

Another very important feature of my invention is the manner in whichthe legs supporting the angers are arranged. These legs are of suicientstrength to resist the force which will be impressed thereon by reasonof the plowing action, but if an obstruction is encountered these legswill bend rearwardly and so fold under that derailing of the locomotiveis prevented. This is also prevented by the manner in which the iangersare supported in operative position, that is to say, the supporting ofthe iiangers for free movement on the supporting legs therefor away fromthe stops which dispose the angers in proper operative position.

While I have illustrated and described a selected embodiment of myinvention it is to be understood that this is capable of variation and.modification and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precisedetails set forth but desire to avail myself of such changes andalterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

I claim:

l.' A snow plow comprising a guiding and supporting frame, a pair oflanger blades siidably mounted upon the said guiding and supportingframe and slidably guided thereby for movement into lowered or eectiveposition and into raised or ineffective position, a pair of wingspivotally mounted upon the said guiding and supporting frame, oneadjacent the outer end of each of the said flanger blades, for movementinto extended or eifective position and into folded or ineffectiveposition, rela-tive to the said hanger blades, and means forsimultaneously moving both of the said flanger blades and both of thesaid wings into and out of their eective positions, said means includinga rock shaft extending horizontally across the said frame rearwardly ofthe said langer blades, a pair of horizontally spaced arms carried bythe said rock shaft and extending forwardly from the said rock shaftabove the said hanger blades, a pair of flexible elements each attachedto one of the said arms and each attached to one of the said angerblades, a second rock shaft extending horizontally across the saidguiding and supporting frame rearwardly of and parallel to the saidfirst-named rock shaft, means operatively interconnecting the said rockshafts, means operatively interconnecting each of the said wings to thesaid secondnamed rock shaft, and means for rocking the said shafts.

2. A snow plow comprising a guiding and supporting frame, a pair ofiianger blades slidably mounted upon the said guiding and supportingframe and slidably guided thereby for movement into lowered or eiiectiveposition and into raised or ineiective position, a pair of wingspivotally mounted upon the said guiding and supporting frame,oneadjacent the outer end of each of the said danger blades, formovement into extended or eiective position and into folded orineffective position, relative to the said anger blades, and means forsimultaneously moving both of the said iianger blades and both of thesaid wings into and out of their effective positions, said meansincluding a rock shaft extending horizontaliy across the said framerearwardly of the said iianger blades, a pair of horizontally spacedarms carried by the said rook shaft and extending forwardly from thesaid rock shaft above the said anger blades, a pair of flexible elementseach attached to one of the said arms and each attached to one of thesaid Jdanger blades, a second rock shaft extending horizontally acrossthe said guiding and supporting frame rearwardly of and parallel to thesaid first-named rock shaft, a link mechanism operativelyinterconnecting the said rock shafts, a link mechanism operativelyinterconnecting each of the said wings to the anism operativelyinterconnecting each of the said second-named rock shaft, and means,including fluid-pressme operated pistons for rocking the said shafts.

WILLIAM A. MCNULTY.

